Jeannie Watt – To Tempt a Cowgirl (страница 3)

Dani brought her attention back to the bidding action. Gabe bid several times, then when the action got too rich, put his number back on his thigh and kept it there. Now Dani had an idea of his limit, which was unfortunately well above her own.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Mac’s big hand landed on the back of her neck, massaging for a moment, making her head move side to side. “It’ll be okay,” he said as he settled his hand back on his thigh.

But it wasn’t okay. Instead of starting slowly, the bidding on Lacy took off immediately. Dani had planned to wait until the bidding slowed—not that she’d really expected it to take off—and then jump in toward the end. Instead, she sat dazed as the sale price kept rising and rising. Someone really wanted Lacy and it wasn’t her new neighbor, who’d sat without moving. Dani swallowed as disappointment washed over her—she told herself that the mare would be going to a good home if someone was willing to pay that much for her. She glanced over at Gabe, saw him move his paddle, then thrust her own number high in the air. The spotter pointed at her and her competition, who sat somewhere behind her bid again. Her gut twisted.

Too rich. She just couldn’t justify it. She and her sisters had just sunk a lot of money into much-needed fence repair, greatly diminishing her store of available cash. The auctioneer pointed at her questioningly as the bid stalled out. She shook her head, feeling close to tears, which was ridiculous because she didn’t cry.

“Going...going...”

Mac grabbed Dani’s hand and lifted it up high. Her startled gaze jerked up to his face, but he just smiled at her.

“I’m already over budget,” she said, pulling her hand out of his.

“I’ll loan you the rest.”

The auctioneer asked for fifty dollars more. Fifty dollars more. Now twenty-five. He pointed over Dani’s head at her competition, a questioning look on his face. No bid, but Dani still held her breath as he intoned, “G-o-ing....g-o-ing...”

Her heart was pounding. She wanted to win, but if Mac tried to force her hand up again, she was going to have to wrestle him for control or file for bankruptcy.

“Gone!”

Mac wrapped an arm around her and squeezed. “You’re welcome,” he murmured.

“I hope you take payments,” Dani said as she got to her feet.

“And I don’t even charge interest.”

Dani fought a smile as they walked together to the sale office to settle the deal. Lacy J was hers once again.

* * *

FOR ONE ROTTEN MOMENT, Gabe had thought he was going to have to buy the horse. Buy it, “realize” it was too much for him and sell it at a loss to Danica Brody. She’d obviously wanted the mare badly, but had only allowed herself to go to a certain point in the bidding—at least until her friend had intervened. He lingered in his seat until he saw Danica come out of the sale office, tucking her checkbook into her jacket pocket, then followed her to the exit, where he intercepted her. Something flashed in her eyes when she saw him—recognition? Guilt? Satisfaction?

“I thought you said buying this horse is buying trouble—or was that only if I bought her,” he said.

“Oh, no,” she said easily. “I’m buying trouble, too. But the thing is, I know what I’m getting into.”

“And you think I don’t?”

“I truly doubt you know this mare like I do. We kind of grew up together.”

“And then someone ruined her?”

“Something like that.” She held out a hand. “No hard feelings?”

“No,” he said with a half smile as he took her hand, rather enjoying the way it felt in his. Small but strong, smooth and warm. She stepped away and Gabe made his move. “Hey, since we’re neighbors...I don’t suppose you’d like to—”

Her expression instantly shuttered. “No,” she said simply. “But thanks anyway.”

* * *

DANI CROSSED THE lot to where she’d parked her truck and trailer. She’d refused to allow herself to believe she wouldn’t get Lacy back, so had come prepared to haul the horse home. It would have been a lonely trip home if it hadn’t been for Mac. She owed him. Owed the horse. Seemed as if she owed everyone a small debt of gratitude—even Chad for showing his true colors before the wedding. Good of him to save her all that future heartache.

Speaking of men, her neighbor worked fast. She couldn’t really blame him, though, if he was living alone in the castle. Not much to do in the isolated place and coffee with a neighbor would have probably been welcome. Of course, he might have been talking a drink or a date, but she hadn’t given him a chance to offer anything. She was so not in the market right now, but he was damned good-looking with his dark hair and striking gray eyes and she’d felt a nice jolt of...something, when their fingers had touched. A corner of her mouth tilted up as she got her keys out of her pocket. Too bad Jolie wasn’t here. Her sister was a sucker for smoldering hot guys. While she...she’d had enough of that for a while.

Her phone rang in her pocket and she dug it out. Allie. Her oldest sister, who’d also had enough of men for a while.

“I got her,” she said as she unlocked the door to the trailer’s tack room.

“For a song?”

“Uh, no. The song part didn’t happen, but I got her.”

“That’s going to be one expensive lawn ornament, Dan.”

“I—”

“Owe her. I know. And I’m looking forward to seeing her when I come for my stuff.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to drive over tonight? Sleep over?” Dani asked, reaching into the tack room for Lacy’s old halter.

“I’d prefer not to spend the night on the ranch.” Allie spoke matter-of-factly. Too matter-of-factly. Dani pressed her lips together, wishing that her sister could separate her bitterness toward her ex husband from the ranch itself.

“I understand.” The silence that followed her comment stretched on just a moment too long and Dani’s radar went up. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

“What happened?” she asked flatly. She knew this tone and also knew that unless something was dreadfully wrong, Allie wouldn’t share without being prodded—the burden of being the stoic older sister that their mother had depended on. “Kyle?”

“Who else? I had to threaten him with a lawyer today in order to convince him to bring back Dad’s old tractor. He still insists he needs it to work around his place.”

“And...”

“You know as well as I do that he doesn’t need a tractor. He wants to sell it to a collector. In fact, from the way he was acting, I think he already has a buyer.” Allie blew out a disgusted breath. “He actually told me that he deserved the tractor in return for the sweat equity he’d put into the place.”

“Oh, yeah,” Dani said. “He was drowning in sweat. That’s why the place is falling apart.”

“Exactly! I asked him why, if he’d put in so much effort, we just paid someone a boatload of money to patch up the fences and gates so the cows would stay home. He didn’t have an answer to that one.”

“I imagine not,” Dani said.

“He is so pissed that he had to go back to work,” Allie continued in a lower voice. “He’d never planned on working again.”

Dani’s former brother-in-law was openly angry that he hadn’t received a share of the property in the divorce settlement, which was why he kept trying to lay claim on anything of value left on the ranch, like, say, a vintage tractor.

“Into every life,” Dani said drily.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Allie said and then her voice brightened. “But, hey, I didn’t call to cry on your shoulder. I called to see about Lacy. I’m glad you got her.”

“She’s changed,” Dani said.

Allie gave a soft snort. “Haven’t we all? Even Mel.”

“No kidding,” Dani said with a wry smile. Their ultra-driven sister had finally stopped dealing with her demons by never slowing down and had settled on a remote ranch in New Mexico with her new husband. “I need to call her, too. Tell her the news.”

“That reminds me—Mom phoned late last night. They’re heading off to the Great White North to fish. We shouldn’t expect to hear from her for a while.”

“Mom the world traveler.” And she deserved it. After more than a decade of living lean in order to raise the girls on the Lightning Creek Ranch as her late husband had asked, she’d remarried and was living comfortably in Florida. “I hate to cut this short,” Dani said, “but I need to load Lacy while there are still some people around to help if I have trouble.”

“Be careful,” Allie warned in a serious voice. “I’d like you to be in one piece when I see you tomorrow.”

“Will do.” Dani ended the call and dropped the phone back into her pocket. As she started for Lacy’s pen, she saw someone loitering nearby, then stifled a groan as she realized just who it was. Marti Kendall. Petite, toned and tanned, dressed in slim-fitting Wranglers and a studded black T-shirt, she looked like she’d stepped out of a Western fashion ad in Horse & Rider.

“Hey, Marti,” Dani said as she opened the gate to Lacy’s pen, “was that you bidding against me?”

“No,” Marti said with a light laugh, brushing back a hank of her beautifully streaked light brown hair. “I have more than enough horses to deal with. The last thing I need is a crazy one.” She leaned her arms on the rails, fixing Dani with a candid look. “So is it true what I’ve heard?”